


mickey mi’s kindergarten house: let’s make a friend!

by halcydonia



Category: Super Junior, Super Junior-M
Genre: Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, hanchul are parents to an adorable girl, qmi are clueless as per usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-05
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-07-21 19:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7399861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halcydonia/pseuds/halcydonia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zhou Mi and his sidekick Kyuhyun run Mickey Mi’s Kindergarten House, and somehow they manage to make some friends along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	mickey mi’s kindergarten house: let’s make a friend!

**Author's Note:**

> Written originally for encoded_panties as a part of the qmidayeveryday summer 2015 fic exchange on livejournal.

“So tell me, why do you think your child fits our kindergarten school?” 

Zhou Mi leans forward in his seat, hand curling around his chin as he focuses on the young couple before him. The man on his right is soft looking, with kind eyes and a downturned mouth, and the one on his left is almost pretty, like a young girl. But Zhou Mi knows, undoubtedly, that they are indeed two men from the way their hands tense in their laps and their backs are straight against their chairs. 

The tension is momentarily broken when Kyuhyun pokes his head in the office and comes in to drop some cups of instant coffee on the desk. He retires to sit behind Zhou Mi, idly playing with his phone. 

“Thank you, Kyuhyun-ssi,” Zhou Mi says briefly, not taking his eyes off of the couple. “So?”

The pretty man— who had introduced himself as Heechul when he’d come in — stiffens, so his partner answers for him. 

“If we’re going to be totally honest,” the man, Hankyung, says, “this is… the last place where we can go. Hana is a lovely child, kind and soft-spoken at home, and I’m sure she’ll have little trouble adjusting to school. But…” And Hankyung hazards a look at Heechul, who seems to want to look away, his lips pressed into a thin line. 

“But,” Hankyung continues with a sigh, “many of the places we’ve contacted aren’t so accepting of our… lifestyle.” Another glance at Heechul to gauge his expression. “We know it’s late to apply for this term, but we were hoping that you’d make an exception.”

Zhou Mi smiles benignly at them but otherwise tries to keep his expression neutral, and he pens some notes on the couple’s file. A picture of their child is paperclipped to the top document. She’s adorable, all pigtails and toothy grin. 

“And what’s your profession, Hankyung-ssi? Heechul-ssi?” he asks, and when he looks up it seems the couple is surprised, as though they’ve never gotten far enough in the interview process to be asked that question.

“Err, I’m a dance instructor. Heechul-ah’s a nurse. We work in the city.”

“And will you have someone to pick Hana up if you require after school care?”

Heechul narrows his eyes. “Are you looking for a reason to reject us, Zhou Mi-ssi?” 

The question comes so terse and sharp that makes Zhou Mi narrow his own eyes at Heechul, who now has his arms crossed, his chin held high. Zhou Mi gives what he hopes is a pacifying shake of his head. 

“Just some standard questions we ask all parents.” He closes his notebook and stands. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to have a talk with my assistant and give you my answer. If you’ll excuse us.”

Kyuhyun follows him out of the room without a word. He’s a bit of an odd creature, Kyuhyun is. He’d joined the kindergarten a few years ago after graduating jobless with an MBA, as a sort of handyman who could fix Zhou Mi’s incurable allergy of any sort of technology. What Zhou Mi quickly learned is that, though Kyuhyun is painfully awkward around children (perhaps because he’s more like an overgrown five-year-old himself and is afraid of _breaking_ one of them), he has an unusual capacity for reading people, children and adults alike; he knows when a child or a parent is going to blow before Zhou Mi can even consider it, knows when to sweep in for quiet, effective intervention. Now, three years down the road, Zhou Mi never conducts a meeting without Kyuhyun sitting in the back of the room, fiddling with his phone but always keeping a careful watch. 

“So,” Zhou Mi begins when he closes the door to his office, “what do you think?” Kyuhyun purses his lips and bites the inside of his cheek, just like he always does when he’s in thought. 

“The man with the long hair,” he says after a pause, “he may be… difficult to deal with, to say the least.” He hums, looks through the window to see Hankyung’s thumb drawing circles on the back of Heechul’s hands, and then breaks into a wide grin, eyes crinkling at the corners.

“I think we should take them,” Kyuhyun finally decides, and that’s it for Zhou Mi. He grins right back and opens the door, happy to give the couple the good news. 

“Congratulations,” he says, and the men’s heads snap up, hope in their eyes, “we’d love to welcome your daughter Hana to Mickey Mi’s Kindergarten House.” From the happiness and relief on the young couple’s faces, Zhou Mi can’t help but feel reassured that Kyuhyun is always right. 

\--

Most of the faces Zhou Mi sees on the first day of the fall term are familiar to him. He visits the preschool down the road at the end of every sprint term, so the kids have a chance to familiarize themselves with Zhou Mi’s face before they enter the kindergarten class. There are fifteen children in the class this year, fifteen children for Zhou Mi and Victoria, his assistant teacher, to look after while Kyuhyun lurks in the background. 

The only child that Zhou Mi hasn’t seen before has a very familiar face with her, and he and Hankyung exchange cautious smiles. 

“Hi,” Hankyung greets with a half wave, and then runs his hand through his hair. “Err, is there any… paperwork that I have to fill out, or anything like that?”

Zhou Mi takes a cursory look at the dance leotard that’s mostly hidden behind Hankyung’s sweatshirt. He shakes his head.

“No, we finished all of that during our meeting. But I must ask,” he says, crouching down with a smile, “who is this pretty little girl with you?”

The child looks infinitely more terrified than she had in her photo, and she hides herself behind her father’s legs. She looks almost as if she’s about to burst into tears. 

“Hana, _baobao_ ,” Hankyung coaxes, trying to pull her in front of him, “say hi to Zhou Mi-seonsaengnim.” 

“ _Baobao?_ ” Zhou Mi asks with a fond kind of grin. “My mother would call me that when I was little. It’s very nice to meet you, Hana-yah.” He holds out his hand, because this isn’t the first time a child has been frightened at the thought of their first separation from their parents, but he’s thoroughly ignored. 

“Baba,” Hana whimpers and presses her face into Hankyung’s leg.

Hankyung bends to cup her face in his hands. “Appa will come pick you up this evening, _baobao_. Look at how many kids are here to play with, mm? I promise, appa will be here before you know it, and in the meantime can you help Zhou Mi-seongsaengnim and me by being a good girl?”

“You’re _leaving_ ,” Hana accuses heartbreakingly. Hankyung grimaces. 

“I’ll see you at home later, _baobao_ , I _promise_.”

And with Zhou Mi’s help Hankyung pries Hana from his chest, while tears stream down her face. Despite the whining, she’s not a loud crier; Zhou Mi wouldn’t have noticed unless he was bent over to look at her face. She’s obviously been brought up well by Hankyung and his partner. 

“Don’t worry, Hankyung-ssi. Your daughter is in good hands. We’ll see you this evening,” Zhou Mi reassures, and Hankyung nods before waving sadly at Hana and heading to work.

Zhou Mi takes Hana’s hand. “Hana-yah, do you want me to show you around before you play with the other kids?”

The child doesn’t respond, so Zhou Mi tugs her hand lightly while he shows her the playroom, the nap room, the kitchen. They finally circle back to the playroom. 

“I’m going to gather all of you guys in fifteen minutes, Hana-yah. Could you play nicely with the other kids until then?”

After he lets her hand go, Zhou Mi prepares himself and Victoria for the first meeting with the kids. He fixes his Mickey Mouse ears headband in the mirror, and tweaks Victoria’s Minny ears. He’s even able to wrestle Kyuhyun into a pair, after which he sulks in the corner of the playroom while kicking his toes against the wall. 

“Weeeeeeeelcome to Mickey Mi’s Kindergarten House!” Zhou Mi beams at the children in the playroom, and all heads snap up before they start swarming to Zhou Mi feet. “My name is Zhou Mi-seonsaengnim, and I am so happy to meet you all!”

Zhou Mi spends the first hour or so with the children putting on the routine he rehearses every year; he and Victoria sing a song, and put on a goofy skit that makes the kids laugh. Kyuhyun makes a short, awkward appearance to introduce himself, and then the kids are free to play awhile in a haze of excitement and giggles. 

The routine is even more successful this year, because Zhou Mi learns how much he should exaggerate his expressions to look foolish but not ghoulish, and he has several children falling over in laughter by the end. After he turns on the lights, he feels like he’s almost in a haze himself, until Kyuhyun puts a hand on his shoulder. 

“Look at Hana,” he says, head jerking to where the kids are supposed to be playing happily.

The only one who looks out of place is Hana, who is sitting by herself near a window and looking outside. She doesn’t even have a doll to hug or puzzle to play with. 

Zhou Mi makes his way over. “Hana?” He gently puts a hand on her shoulder. “Did you like the play just now?” No response. “Is there anything I can get you? Can I introduce you to the others?” he tries again.

The girl shakes her head. Zhou Mi sighs, and sits cross-legged next to her so he can see her profile.

“Hana-yah, you miss your parents, mm? They’ll come for you this evening because they have to work. But let me tell you a secret: If you play nicely with the other children, it’ll feel like the time passes just like that!” He snaps his fingers for show, but still doesn’t gain any reaction. 

Zhou Mi stands and furrows his brow, perplexed. If he hadn’t heard Hana speak to Hankyung before, he would have thought the girl was mute. He leaves her for now to tend to the other children. Maybe she just needs some time to adjust, Zhou Mi hopes. 

\--

By the time lunch comes around, Hana still hasn’t spoken a word to the other children. 

Kyuhyun brings the food out, and Zhou Mi and Victoria busy themselves with dolling out portions of rice, chicken, and vegetables on the children’s trays. Zhou Mi’s needed at the boys’ table to diffuse a few arguments, because Hyukjae tries to swindle little Henry into giving up his chicken wing. The ordeal ends with Donghae donating his own with a proud and doting grin. 

Kyuhyun normally takes his lunch break around now, so Zhou Mi’s surprised when he sticks around, wandering among the tables almost aimlessly and biting the inside of his cheek. But then he stops at a table where all the girls are giggling excitedly among themselves, and drops into a crouch in front of Hana, whose tray is, Zhou Mi notices, alarmingly full. Zhou Mi tries to make his way over, but Kyuhyun catches his eye and shakes his head. 

So Zhou Mi settles with inching himself forward just a bit, and watches as Kyuhyun speaks to the child, quietly so none of the other girls are disturbed. Hana wrings her hands together and shakes her head, appearing distraught. After a few more moments of wheedling, Kyuhyun stands and makes his way back to the kitchen. Zhou Mi stares; except for some snacks, there’s nothing else that they have that Hana can eat. 

Kyuhyun returns quickly, and there’s a cup in his hand. He offers it to Hana, an awkward kind of grin on his face that’s a mixture of proud and uncertain. And then he gets up, leaving Hana staring at her food with an expression of defiance. She crosses her arms and pouts, but at the very least, she doesn’t cry.

It takes a while, almost when everyone else is finished with their food, but Zhou Mi watches in amazement as Hana uncrosses her arms, and first reaches for the drink Kyuhyun had set before her. She looks into the cup, and takes a cautious sip. And afterward, she takes a small bite, but a bite, of her food.

As Hana begins to eat, Zhou Mi feels Kyuhyun come up beside him, rocking on his heels. 

“What did you do?” Zhou Mi asks in bewilderment.

Kyuhyun’s voice is vaguely smug as he watches the rest of the children. “My mother always used to tell me that if you took a big gulp of juice beforehand, you could make yourself eat anything.”

Zhou Mi gives Kyuhyun a sharp look. In the years that he’s known his assistant, Zhou Mi has never seen Kyuhyun closely interact with anyone under the age of twenty. He supposes, rather wildly, that Kyuhyun may have finally found a child with whom he connects, whom he doesn’t fear. Another part of him makes him want to roll his eyes as Kyuhyun starts skirting around the tables again with his eyes fixed on Hana, because honestly, it’s about time.

\--

“Give her some time to adjust,” Kyuhyun says pointedly when Zhou Mi shoots Hana frequent glances the next day. 

When Zhou Mi is going over the very first lesson in his planner — visualizing the Korean alphabet — he notices that Hana is restless, eyes darting all over the room and hands fidgeting in her lap. It’s not that unusual, for a child who is no more than five on her first day of real lessons, but what is even more perturbing is that Hana makes no indication of talking to the other children, or sharing the flip books that Victoria sets out. Even when they break for supervised playing time, Hana just sits at the table closest to the window, away from the other children who play with Legos and dolls.

“Hana?” Zhou Mi asks softly, leaning over so they’re at eye level with each other. “Is there anything you’d like to play with? Your father told me you like animals when we first met. I have some picture books, or would you like stuffed animals?”

The child shakes her head, and turns away so she’s looking out of the window. 

“Coloring books? Puzzles? Can’t I get you anything, Hana?”

But the girl continues to ignore him, so Zhou Mi sighs and gets up to try to find something that may interest her. As he rifles through some of the toy bins, Kyuhyun crouches down beside him. 

“Is it Hana you’re trying to find toys for, hyung?” he asks. “Can I… Is it possible that I can help?”

“Food isn’t the same thing as toys, Kyuhyun-ah,” Zhou Mi says heavily, and he pulls out what was once a piece of a robot model, only to toss it back into the bin. “You’re welcome to try, I suppose.”

When Zhou Mi turns to look at Kyuhyun, he’s surprised to see that his assistant already has a few books in his hands — real books, not the cardboard flip books that they keep in the kindergarten. They’re on different subjects — music, zoology, and bizarrely, video games. 

Kyuhyun awkwardly plods off into the kid zone and sits on one of the tiny chairs next to Hana. Zhou Mi watches them carefully. He sees Kyuhyun offer Hana the books, opens a few so she can see the pictures. She ignores him, until he accidentally pokes her in the arm while gesturing, and she turns around to glare at him. Zhou Mi’s about to go and intervene when, miraculously, Hana fingers at the page of one of the books, and prods at Kyuhyun to get him to turn the page. She stares at another drawing, and repeats the motion, until they’re a dozen pages into the book and she begins to turn the pages on her own. As if sensing Zhou Mi’s laser eyes, Kyuhyun looks up and helplessly shrugs. 

_I’ve got this_ , he mouths, and Zhou Mi rolls his eyes before going to tend to the other children. There’s havoc in one corner of the playroom because Jongdae’s pulled Jongin’s hoodie over his head and tied the strings tight, but as Zhou Mi begins to untie the clumsy knot, his attention keeps returning to Hana and Kyuhyun, who are serenely looking at books at the back of the room. 

\--

“She likes fish, you know.”

In the quiet after closing, Zhou Mi looks up from his paperwork and sees Kyuhyun standing before him with a paper cup of instant coffee. Kyuhyun usually feels uncomfortable sitting opposite of Zhou Mi’s desk — like he’s a parent in for an interview or progress report — so he drops the coffee in front of Zhou Mi and takes his usual seat in the chair behind him. 

“This coffee is terrible, you know,” Zhou Mi comments lightly, and he can almost sense Kyuhyun shrug. He continues to pen things down, notes on the children in the class, as is his ritual after a day of lessons. Amber has trouble communicating with the other children, because she often confuses English, Mandarin, and Korean words. Jongdae cries frequently because he misses his mother. Sunny is outgoing, and enjoys sharing her toys with the girls.

“I suppose you’re talking about Hana?” Zhou Mi asks Kyuhyun, after a while of nothing but the sound of the scratching of his pen. 

“Dolphins are her favorite,” Kyuhyun replies lightly.

Zhou Mi turns in his chair. “She seems to have taken a liking to you.”

Kyuhyun actually does shrug this time, and fiddles with the phone in his pocket. “She’s selectively antisocial. She just happened to open up to me first.”

“Is it something we have to tell her parents about?” 

For a long time, Kyuhyun thinks, biting the inside of his cheek and narrowing his eyes. “I think…” he finally says, “I think that she needs some security. Some time. I think… she’ll be fine.”

Zhou Mi lets out a long breath and runs his fingers through his hair. “I suppose she’s been turned away more than once. Because of her parents. Because — isn’t it just awful?” 

Kyuhyun’s eyes soften. “But you wouldn’t have,” he says, and it’s not a question. 

“Not when you seemed so adamant to take them.” Kyuhyun rolls his eyes at this, and Zhou Mi ruffles his hair some more. 

“I’m normally good with kids,” he complains petulantly. “That’s why I wanted to start Mickey Mi’s. It just… sucks when I’m not.”

Kyuhyun stands, and he’s smiling now. “You and Victoria are a great pair when it comes to teaching those kids and keeping them on the right track. And you’ve given me a job too, I suppose. I’d be living off of ramen if it weren’t for you.”

“As if you don’t already,” Zhou Mi scoffs, hitting Kyuhyun on the arm. Kyuhyun laughs, and picks up Zhou Mi’s still-full cup. 

“Hey,” Zhou Mi calls as Kyuhyun’s leaving. “You’re good with Hana. Have you ever thought of, you know, joining Victoria and me? For more than just handiwork and terrible coffee.”

“And leave you to melt down over your computer? I don’t think so.” But Kyuhyun stops and cocks his head to the side for a moment. “Hana shouldn’t be special,” he continues in a matter-of-fact tone, “but she and Heechul-ssi and Hankyung-ssi have been treated badly in the past. She seemed lonely.”

And with that, Kyuhyun takes his leave. Zhou Mi can hear him pour out the cold coffee into the sink, pick up his bag, and walk out through the back door. He stares at the paperwork before him, with the name _Kim Hana_ printed across the top, and after a moment, begins to write. 

\--

Over the next few weeks, Zhou Mi keeps a careful eye on Hana, hoping for some change, hoping that she warms up to the other children. But she only seems to smile and talk to Kyuhyun, who brings her some more books about marine creatures, and tells her all about sharks and fish and dolphins. The other kids in the class tend to ignore her, as she does them; it’s as though Hana has found her own personal playmate and is completely satisfied.

But isolation aside, Hana now eats all of her food. She’s perfectly polite to Victoria and Zhou Mi, although she’s rather curt with her replies. She begins mastering the alphabet quickly, more so than her classmates. She’s quiet during lessons and naptime, and never makes any big messes. 

Since her fathers both have jobs in the city, she’s enrolled in Mickey Mi’s after care program, when Zhou Mi and Victoria help full time working parents with their children’s homework, and play movies when they begin to grow restless. Hana’s normally not the last one to get picked up — maybe the third to last, or fourth, because Yerim and Kyungsoo’s parents have to commute more than two hours a day. 

It seems different today, however, because it’s nearing six o’clock and Yerim and Kyungsoo bid Zhou Mi and Victoria farewell with cheerful waves, while Hana is sitting by herself in the playroom, stacking some blocks. Victoria leaves early because she has to visit a friend in the hospital. 

As it edges past six thirty, Zhou Mi thumbs through his contact book to call Heechul, and then Hankyung when Heechul doesn’t pick up. 

“Hello,” he says when the phones ask him to leave a message, “this is Zhou Mi from Mickey Mi’s Kindergarten House. I was wondering if someone is available to pick Hana up. We were supposed to close at six o’clock.” He glances over at Hana, who has abandoned the blocks for some puzzles. 

At seven, Hana begins to grow restless, and squirms in her seat. 

“It’s all right, sweetheart,” Zhou Mi tries to soothe her with a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Your parents are on their way to get you, don’t worry.”

But the girl cries and whimpers, even after Kyuhyun gives her some food and a new book to read. 

“Baba,” she says. Kyuhyun even offers her his lap and awkwardly holds her, but she only cries into his shoulder, distraught.

“What should we do?” Kyuhyun mouths to Zhou Mi, but the other just presses his lips into a line and tries to murmur comforting words so Hana can hear them. 

At ten minutes to eight, the door finally bursts open, and Hankyung comes flying into the playroom panting. 

“I’m so sorry,” he says, words slurred. “I was in classes, and there was an emergency at Heechul’s hospital. Neither of us could get to a phone. I’m sorry you had to wait so long — ”

“Hankyung-ssi,” Zhou Mi soothes as Hana leaps from Kyuhyun’s lap to hug her father’s legs, “it’s quite all right. Would you follow me for a moment? I would like to talk to you.”

It takes a moment of coaxing to ease Hana away from her father, but Kyuhyun eventually leads her into the kitchen to get some juice and clean up her tear-streaked face. Zhou Mi takes Hankyung to his office; the young father looks, understandably, nervous.

“I just — I had no idea, I had no idea that neither of us would be able to pick her up, I couldn’t get to my phone — ”

“Hankyung-ssi,” Zhou Mi interrupts in surprise at the panic in Hankyung’s voice, “I didn’t bring you here to reprimand you. I just hoped we could talk about Hana for a few minutes.”

Hankyung’s tense posture doesn’t loosen as he sits down. “What about Hana?”

Zhou Mi sits in his chair and gazes at Hankyung sternly. “I’ve been watching her carefully for these past couple of weeks,” he begins, “and though my assistant doesn’t agree, I’d like to tell you about what I’ve observed in my class so far.

“I cannot deny that Hana is a wonderful student — ” this makes Hankyung smile a bit. “She’s attentive, and she grasps abstract concepts very well. She’ll be reading words and sentences within the next few weeks, I’m estimating.

“In terms of social skills, however,” Zhou Mi finally says with a sigh, “she tends to… isolate herself from the rest of the children. As though she’s uncomfortable with them. Even with Victoria-seonsaengnim and me, she tends to not go out of her way to talk or play with either of us. She only seems to like being around Kyuhyun, my assistant, and that concerns me. We’ve given her animal puzzles to solve with the other children, but she tends to just play with them herself. I was wondering, perhaps, if there’s anything I could do to make her more comfortable? At home?”

With every word Zhou Mi speaks, Hankyung’s expression grows more and more solemn, and at Zhou Mi’s questions he sighs and puts his head in his hand. When he looks up again, his mouth is pressed in a thin line and his eyes are stern.

“This is the longest she’s ever been at a kindergarten,” Hankyung says softly. “A few weeks, max, that’s how long the other accepted her. Then… either she was disrupting the other children’s classwork, or she didn’t seem to fit in, or she disobeyed the teachers… There are so many ways they tried to force her out. She’s Heechul’s child, out of surrogacy, 100% Korean, but she has a Chinese father. She has… she has two fathers. That’s the real reason why they didn’t want her. Is that what you’re trying to do too, Zhou Mi-ssi? Force her out like everyone else did, because of me? Because of Heechul?”

Zhou Mi almost recoils at the question, the accusation in Hankyung’s tone. He remembers his conversation with Kyuhyun: _I suppose she’s been turned away more than once. / But you wouldn’t have._

“I know very well the trials of facing discrimination in this country,” Zhou Mi says, and it sounds tight to his ears. “I, too, am Chinese. Your partner has accused me of trying to force you away before. So I would have to kindly ask you, Hankyung-ssi, to never do the same ever again.”

Hankyung almost looks like he’s going to walk out, but then he deflates, sighing again and burying his face in his hands. 

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m — I’m sorry, I won’t. It’s just — we want the best, for our Hana. That’s all we want. We don’t want to fight you.”

Zhou Mi’s tone softens. “Of course I know that, Hankyung-ssi. You are her parents, after all.”

Hankyung straightens and smiles at that fondly. “You know, Heechul and I were surprised when there was a Chinese owner and teacher of this kindergarten teaching our children the Korean alphabet,” he says, trying to keep his tone conversational. Zhou Mi appreciates the effort.

“You have no idea how often I’ve heard that, Hankyung-ssi,” he says with an eye roll.

“Han Geng,” Hankyung inserts quickly. “My birth name, it’s Han Geng.”

And this, this Zhou Mi feels is significant. In the Chinese language, there are few formalities, no honorifics, no differences like _banmal_ and _jondaetmal_. And it’s familiar to Zhou Mi, who still struggles with grammar and pronunciation years after he had moved to Korea. 

“Well, Han Geng,” Zhou Mi says, and the name feels comfortable on his tongue, “I hope you know that your daughter is in good hands.”

Han Geng gives a weak smile. “I appreciate that, Zhou Mi,” he replies, dropping his speech with some caution. “But… Heechul and I have been thinking that, maybe after this year, we’ll be moving to some place more… accepting. It’ll be easier on Hana. I hope you’ll understand.”

It’s like a punch in the gut, that as soon as he offers his hand out to Han Geng, he has to snatch it away in embarrassment, like he’s imposed. Han Geng gets up to leave with Hana, and as Zhou Mi watches their retreating backs, he wonders if this is how that little girl has felt all this time. 

\--

Zhou Mi plans for a class field trip around mid-October, when they’ve grown more accustomed to being around adults who aren’t their parents. In the past they’ve gone to a whole sleuth of places — apple picking farms, aquariums, zoos — places where the kids can get a more visual and hands-on learning experience than they can in the classroom. It’s a particularly cold and windy October, however, so he and Victoria finally decide to visit a small art museum on the outskirts of the city, where the kids can get interactive lessons in sculpting and drawing. Before they go inside, Zhou Mi sweeps down on Kyuhyun.

“You have to help me watch Hana,” he says. “With all of the kids, I can’t see if she falls behind, or if she wanders off.”

Kyuhyun, who normally goes on trips just to field some calls from Zhou Mi’s phone, blinks as though taken aback. “O…kay?” he says, eyebrows raised, and Zhou Mi breathes a sigh of relief.

Their guide meets them by the entrance, a cheerful looking girl named Jinri, and she takes them through the small exhibits. It’s mostly modern art, with a few traditional paintings in one room. Most of the children just fidget when Jinri tries to explain something about the paintings, much to Zhou Mi’s dismay, but several of the more outgoing kids ask her questions, enthralled by things like colors and silhouettes. 

After the tour, the kids split up into two groups; the boys mainly go for sculpting lessons, while the girls go for drawing. Hana doesn’t seem to know which one to pick. She’d trailed behind the rest of the group, hand sometimes searching Kyuhyun’s at her side on occasion. She didn’t pose questions, but remained, as always, perfectly polite when asked what her favorite color was, or her favorite animal. 

Seeing the groups already begin to head off into the lesson rooms, Zhou Mi asks, “Hana-yah, do you want to learn how to draw like the artists we saw today?” He expects her to stay silent and grasp for Kyuhyun’s fingers, but instead she pauses before giving a hesitant nod and biting her lip. When Zhou Mi lets her go to the drawing teacher, he and Kyuhyun stare.

“That was new,” Kyuhyun says. Zhou Mi lets out a tense breath. 

Zhou Mi spends the next hour flitting back and forth from the boys, who holler as they crush clay in between their hands, and the girls, who draw more lopsided hearts than the flowers that the instructor asks them to draw. Hana’s face looks stern, almost stiff as she glares at the poor teacher. 

“What a mess,” Victoria, who is normally an angel of patience with the children, groans as she strips little pieces of clay from her hands. 

All in all, it isn’t the most successful field trip Zhou Mi has ever put together. At least he can cross off museums from future excursions. 

“How did you like the museum, Hana?” Zhou Mi asks when he makes his way to the back of the group as they make their way to the bus, taking hold of the girl’s hand. Hana hadn’t seemed amused during the guided tour, or her lessons. She peers at him curiously for a moment, as if he had suddenly distracted her from another train of thought. Then, she breaks out into the widest smile, showing all of her teeth and even the hint of a dimple. It’s brilliant, and Zhou Mi almost has to blink. 

“Today,” she declares triumphantly, “was the greatest day of my life!”

And then she lets go of Zhou Mi’s hand to skip forward to the group of girls who had been in her drawing lesson, animatedly talking about sketching and colors. Zhou Mi stops walking, feeling derailed. Hana’s seriousness in the class, that wasn’t a show of disinterest. No, that was an expression of a little girl who found something she was interested in, something she _loved_. The wonderment in Hana’s eyes now reminds Zhou Mi why he had wanted to work with children when he’d first come to this country, and he can’t wait to tell Han Geng and Heechul the news. 

\--

A week after the class outing, Zhou Mi sits down with the parents of the fifteen children, as a sort of individual progress meeting to let them know how their kids are faring. He takes the notes that he carefully writes every day and relays them to the parents; sometimes there are tears, but otherwise there’s laughter at stories Zhou Mi tells them, or drawings that are tucked into his folder. 

Heechul and Han Geng are his last parents for the day, since a sudden addition in Han Geng’s class load forces him to work more extensive hours. So while the other parents come in business attire, Heechul is still in his scrubs, and Han Geng’s in his usual dance leotard and sweatpants. 

“Good evening, Heechul-ssi, Hankyung-ssi,” Zhou Mi greets as he leads them to his office. “Please, have a seat.”

Kyuhyun’s already inside, a few cups of coffee cooling on Zhou Mi’s desk as he taps indistinct rhythms onto his thigh. Heechul and Han Geng sit nervously, and Zhou Mi opens his files. 

“First I’d like to tell you about Hana’s development in terms of learning. At the moment, she’s able to recognize and write Korean letters and words, but still has trouble in recognizing words to sentences. That’s completely normal at this stage, so I’m not worried about her.”

He goes on like this for a few minutes about her math progress, and her logic abilities. It’s all good news, but Han Geng and Heechul still remain tense, as if waiting for Zhou Mi to drop a bomb in their hands. He closes his notebook, startling them. 

“We have an art corner now, after our trip to the museum,” he says. “Can I show you?”

Zhou Mi leads the pair into the playroom, neatly put together after the children had left. Near the back wall, he’s set up a little table filled with the sculptures the boys had made at the museum, and dozens and dozens of drawings and paintings are hung up behind them. Some of them are indistinct, mottled faces and houses, but all are eagerly done, with sharp lines and no erasure marks. 

Heechul and Han Geng peer at the drawings for a moment, trying to see which ones are their daughter’s. Zhou Mi gestures to a cluster of animal drawings, with a house at the center. 

“She needed her own corner, basically,” he tells them. “After we came back, she couldn’t seem to stop. The other boys and girls ask what she’s drawing, and she tells them about all of the animals she knows about. She shows them what they’re supposed to look like in the picture books we have. Your daughter is quite the social butterfly now, Heechul-ssi, Hankyung-ssi.”

He’s not quite sure if the parents are listening, though, because they’re caught up on Hana’s drawing of a house. Their house. It’s bright red, with two windows and a green door and a chimney with smoke coming from it. There’s a garden filled with flowers, and a family of three standing on the pathway. A tall, lanky stick figure of a man, and another with long hair. The little girl is wearing pink bows in her pigtails. 

“She’s doing very well here,” Zhou Mi half-whispers. “You should be very proud of Hana.” 

“We are,” Han Geng assures him emphatically, voice thick. “We are.”

Seeing how enthralled Heechul and Han Geng are, Zhou Mi steps back, gives them a moment to compose themselves. From the corner of his eye he sees Kyuhyun peek into the playroom, a hint of a smile on his face. 

After a while, Heechul clears his throat and turns to face Zhou Mi. 

“Thank you, seonsaengnim,” he says shortly, “for showing that to us.”

Zhou Mi gives them a small smile in return. “It was my pleasure. And before you go, I’d like to address any possible… concerns that you may have. Is there anything that you’d dissatisfied with about this kindergarten?” Han Geng’s head shoots up, and his expression is chagrinned, almost pained. Heechul looks taken aback at the question.

“No, seonsaengnim,” Han Geng says before his partner can answer, and gives Zhou Mi a curious, level gaze. “We have no concerns.” He gives Heechul a significant look and takes his hand. 

“Thank you for all of the care you’ve given to our daughter,” he says as they leave, and it sounds genuine. Zhou Mi sighs and smiles fondly to himself, and then he calls for Kyuhyun to help him clean up to go home. 

\--

Time passes swiftly in the kindergarten class with one less thing to worry about. Hana shines now that she’s found something she adores, and on her homework Zhou Mi finds small drawings of flowers or dogs. She becomes quick friends with Amber, with whom she speaks a garbled mixture of Mandarin and Korean, as well as, surprisingly, with the rather prickly Youngwoon who discovers a love for sharks after he’d seen Hana’s drawings. Zhou Mi even is forced to go out to get a goldfish, which Hana sensibly names Little Fish, after some of the other children gain interest in marine life. 

With Han Geng’s new working hours, Heechul is the one who picks Hana up in the evenings. Now she’s normally the last one left in the playroom after all of the other kids leave, but she’s easily distracted by new sets of colored pens and markers. And because of that, Zhou Mi is able to get to know Heechul on a level that their curt _hello_ ’s and _goodbye_ ’s previously would have allowed. 

Heechul is more vocal than Han Geng is, Zhou Mi finds, and louder. He has a quick mouth and sharp humor, and he drops formalities when there are no other children around, asking Zhou Mi to do the same.

“Hankyung tells me that in Chinese you don’t have honorifics,” he declares proudly. Zhou Mi has, several times, wondered how polar opposites like the quiet, reasonable Han Geng and the boisterous, brash Heechul could become a pair, but it is in these times, when Heechul has a protective gleam in his eyes when he says Han Geng’s name, that makes Zhou Mi realize that they’re perfect for each other. 

Heechul treats Hana differently than Han Geng does, too. He is, surprisingly, the discipline, while Han Geng indulges Hana with his attention. But Heechul is more generous with _aegyo_ , and he can stop her crying with a few funny faces. It’s rather endearing to watch them together, Zhou Mi finds. 

As it gets closer to the winter holidays, Heechul shows up in a threadbare coat that looks like it’s seen (many) better days. One day, as he lifts his arms to pinch Kyuhyun’s side to mock him about his growing middle, Zhou Mi spots a hole in the stitching. When Heechul leaves with a, “Yah, turn up the heating in this place, you’ll have kid popsicles by the end of the season!” he cups his chin in his hands, wondering how on earth he’s become friends with someone who has such little sense as Heechul does. 

\--

Zhou Mi is proud that he’s normally beaming with sunshine, but now he kind of wants to cry. Tomorrow’s the kindergarten’s Christmas festival, and one of his parents promised to have her husband print out all of the posters for the stalls and the entrance at his business. But at the last minute, she had called to apologize — her husband is sick and the shop is closed.

Now, Zhou Mi’s stuck with 20-plus unmade posters at ten o’clock the night before the festival, and it’s too late to call another shop for help.

So he does the next best thing before he begins to hyperventilate: he calls Kyuhyun, who grumbles about saving the game he’s in the middle of playing, but agrees to come to Mickey Mi’s easily enough. He doesn’t want to bother Victoria because she’s supposed to be with her parents tonight, so without thinking he scrolls through his contact list and pulls up the first number that catches his eye.

Zhou Mi’s throat feels itchy as the phone rings and rings, and then he hears Han Geng’s burbled “’lo?” through the receiver. 

“Hi, um. Hi Han Geng, it’s,” he swallows as his voice shakes. “It’s Zhou Mi, from the kindergarten, and um. God, I’m sorry for calling so late, you’re probably asleep, I should just — ”

There’s scratchy silence on the end of the line as Heechul snatches the phone from Han Geng’s hand. “Yah, Zhou Mi-yah, you’d better give me a good reason as to why you’re interrupting my beauty sleep. We only just got Hana to bed.”

Zhou Mi gulps. “I — Mickey Mi’s Christmas Festival is tomorrow, and there are supposed to be posters, _pretty_ ones with glitter and colors, but one of my class parents bailed on me and now I have two dozen posters that I have to make, and. I have paint and paper, but I always get it _everywhere_ and — ”

“We’ll be there in twenty minutes,” is all Heechul replies before he hangs up. Zhou Mi stares incredulously at the phone, but begins setting out supplies, strangely reassured.

\--

Kyuhyun shows up at Mickey Mi’s five minutes after Heechul hangs up, looking adorably rumpled in holey sweatpants and a worn pullover. His hair looks as though it was just brushed through with his fingers, and there’s a smear of toothpaste at the corner of his mouth. 

Heechul and Han Geng whirl through the door not too long after, Heechul in his threadbare coat and pristine skinny jeans, and Han Geng in the same dance leotard and sweatpants he normally wears to pick up Hana. 

The first thing Heechul does is give Zhou Mi a scathing look when he sees Kyuhyun painting a lopsided red ‘m’ on a poster board. 

“You,” he orders, pointing at Kyuhyun’s shaking hand, “Hankyung brought real coffee instead of that awful instant you always have around, so try to brew a few cups instead of painting a bloody massacre all over the posters.”

“How’s Hana?” Zhou Mi whispers to Han Geng over the Christmas tree he’s sketching as Heechul flutters around to take inventory.

“With a neighbor,” Han Geng replies with a wan smile. With a shrug, he sits in front of another poster board and picks up a brush. “What should I be painting?”

Zhou Mi counts on his fingers. “There’ll be face painting, hot chocolate, storytelling…” Zhou Mi lists all of the stations he has planned and staffed, and Han Geng’s eyes grow wider and wider with each one. 

Heechul swoops in after flicking his hair behind his ear, red paint already splattered on his hand. “Lay out all of your glitter paints, and I’ll make you posters so beautiful you’ll be weeping by the end of the night.”

“Thanks, guys,” Zhou Mi says, trying to inject all of the gratitude he can muster into his voice. Kyuhyun comes back with mugs of steaming coffee, and he nods along emphatically. 

“Don’t be stupid,” Heechul says, but his expression is fond. “That’s what friends are for.”

Zhou Mi looks up at him, stars in his eyes, and already feels like weeping.

\--

As the Minnie Mouse clock on the wall ticks past one in the morning, Zhou Mi sits back to look at all of their handiwork. Heechul’s off sitting in one of the miniature children’s seats, head rested on a low table, and Han Geng’s draped across his arm. After abandoning his artistic endeavors in favor of the more manageable coffee making, Kyuhyun had run to and from the kitchen to brew and deliver their liquid energy, taking sips himself every so often. He began to grow loopy past midnight, mumbling about Zergs and Terrans before eventually curling up on one of the napping beds. Zhou Mi had let him, and ended up folding a blanket over Kyuhyun’s shoulders with a sigh. 

Zhou Mi himself feels a bit like he’s on speed as he sips from his fourth or fifth cup of coffee. His head is almost spinning from the relief that he feels at a job well done. 

“Heechul-ssi is good with a paintbrush. The posters look good.”

Zhou Mi nearly drops his cup of coffee when he hears Kyuhyun’s voice behind him. He whirls around and sees Kyuhyun rubbing the sleep from his eyes, swaying slightly in the doorway as he goes over to look at the posters.

“Is this supposed to be a tiger?” He points to a misshapen lump that Han Geng had been trying to draw on the face painting poster, which looks more like an orange blob with uneven stripes than a fearsome jungle cat. With Heechul’s careful instruction Han Geng had been quite an asset, but Zhou Mi could tell which posters Han Geng had worked on from the scraggly lines and contorted drawings. Heechul’s drawings, surprisingly, were neat and handsome-looking. 

“And you must have done these,” Kyuhyun assumes, pointing to the posters with the most glitter. Zhou Mi grins, and suddenly sinks to his knees, finally feeling the fatigue from the past few hours of work. 

“Oh,” he says in surprise, “I guess I was more tired than I thought…”

“Oops. Careful now — ” Kyuhyun catches the mug from Zhou Mi’s hand and sets it on Heechul and Han Geng’s table. “Hyung? Are you okay? Can I take you to the couch?”

“No, no,” Zhou Mi mumbles, holding his head. He opens his eyes and sees Kyuhyun’s face, his brows wrinkled in concern. There’s a speck of evergreen paint by his eye, and Zhou Mi reaches up to wipe it off when he loses balance completely.

Kyuhyun grabs hold of Zhou Mi’s arms, eyes wide. Zhou Mi blinks, and his head feels heavy as his body is lowered to the floor.

“Kyuhyun-ah,” he whines, and feels fingers pull through his hair. Zhou Mi’s on the cusp of sleep, but it’s out of reach enough that he’s aware of the sound of his breathing, the warmth of Kyuhyun’s fingers. 

And then there’s the slightest pressure, right up on his lips, and for a moment Zhou Mi thinks it’s just the brush of Kyuhyun’s hand until the pressure stays, and stays, and he can feel the coolness of Kyuhyun’s breath against his mouth. 

Zhou Mi’s eyes snap open and Kyuhyun jerks back, a look of horror on his face. 

“Hyung, Zhou Mi-hyung, I — ” Kyuhyun’s holding himself slightly back, but when Zhou Mi doesn’t respond he gets up and bolts right out of the room. Zhou Mi hears the door to the kindergarten slam, and only then does he bring his hand to his lips, realizing that Kyuhyun had just given him his first kiss. 

\--

After Kyuhyun had fled, Zhou Mi had cleaned up the mess and stacked the posters, rousing Han Geng and Heechul so that they could return home for a few more hours of restful sleep. He locked the kindergarten’s doors, and at home sat upright in his bed until the sun had risen.

Now he’s operating on autopilot and a few extra cups of coffee as he goes to set up for the festival. The class parents are supposed to come in an hour, but since Zhou Mi’s head is a mess anyway he figures he should do something mindless to keep himself from obsessing over last night.

A few years ago, Kyuhyun had snuck into his life like a ghost, and in no time had settled into a place that made him irreplaceable. Zhou Mi doesn’t know what he would have done with Kyuhyun’s tech-savvy hands when his computer crashed, or his keen empathy for others. 

But romantically? The thought makes him shiver with… something that he can’t quite place. 

Zhou Mi’s so preoccupied that he doesn’t notice that the door to the kindergarten is already open. He drops his coat and bag in his office and makes his way into the playroom to retrieve the posters. What he sees there makes him stop in his tracks. 

For a moment he thinks he’s been robbed. There are toys strewn all over the floor, and some of the children’s pictures have fallen from the walls. A lump forms in Zhou Mi’s throat; with the festival just a few hours away, he doesn’t have time to clean up, or file a police report.

In the middle of the floor, there is what looks to be a giant fort made up of blankets from the nap room and tiny stacked chairs. Zhou Mi approaches it cautiously and picks up doll in case there’s need to attack. 

He finds an open flap and peeks through. His eyes widen impossibly.

“ _Kyuhyun?_ ”

Indeed, Kyuhyun’s sitting in the middle of the blanket fort, clutching a stuffed bear to his chest. He doesn’t respond when Zhou Mi calls his name, doesn’t even move, so Zhou Mi crawls inside, careful to not to dislodge any of the blankets. 

“Kyuhyun?” he says in a gentler voice when he’s by his assistant’s side. Kyuhyun turns his head so that his cheek is resting on the bear and he’s looking Zhou Mi in the eyes. 

“I — ” he begins, then seems to backtrack. “Hyung,” he tries again, “I’m — I’m _sorry_ for… for last night. I was. I was really tired, and I wasn’t thinking. So. I’m sorry, hyung, I really am.”

Zhou Mi lets out a long breath through his nose, and it ruffles Kyuhyun’s bangs because they’re so close in the blanket fort. After a while, his hand finds Kyuhyun’s, and Kyuhyun’s eyes close. He lets out a breath of his own, soft, when Zhou Mi rests their foreheads together. 

And then Zhou Mi kisses him, just a faint brush of lips, open-mouthed. It’s a new sensation, but ultimately oh-so familiar, because Zhou Mi knows the way Kyuhyun breathes, knows the feeling of his fingers, knows that his skin is always slightly cooler than Zhou Mi’s own. 

They part after a moment, foreheads still pressed together, and Zhou Mi opens his eyes to see Kyuhyun staring at him in wonderment. Zhou Mi gives him a small, reassuring smile, something glowing in his belly. 

Then he sits up and hits Kyuhyun’s arm, hard. “Yah,” he says, but his eyes are still light, “What were you thinking, making a mess like this? Clean up while I set up outside. Oh, and maybe make some of the coffee that Han Geng brought last night, it was delicious.”

And in bemusement, Kyuhyun lets himself get dragged out of the blanket fort, dropping the bear behind and completely destroying the entrance. Zhou Mi jitters away, chatting cheerfully, and all Kyuhyun can do is roll his eyes fondly at his boss’s back, heart fluttering in his chest. 

\--

Thanks to the class moms and some of Zhou Mi’s own friends, preparations go swiftly and smoothly. He’s set up the festival in the field out back, and seating inside in case it gets too cold.

Thankfully it’s not snowing, so Zhou Mi doesn’t have to worry about the kids tracking muddy prints through the (now clean) playroom. Since he’s invited the preschoolers from down the street along as well, there are many screaming children about by the time the festival starts, and Zhou Mi’s made sure there would be plenty to do. 

Zhou Mi’s adding whipped cream to a little girl’s hot chocolate when he spots a straggling family. 

“Heechul-ssi! Hankyung-ssi!” He waves them over, and Hana is the one who drags them both along eagerly. Zhou Mi kneels to ruffle the front of her hair that’s peaking out from her hat. 

“Hello Hana-yah. Would you like some hot chocolate?”

The girl nods, and the ears on her hat flap wildly, too. “Yes, please!”

Zhou Mi spots Kyuhyun walking past with what looks like a handful of balloon animals, and flags him over before he turns back to Hana.

“Hana-yah, Kyuhyun-oppa is going to fix you some hot chocolate while I talk to your parents inside. How does that sound?”

Kyuhyun takes the girl’s hand, and Zhou Mi stands and beckons Han Geng and Heechul inside. They look bewildered, and almost nervous. 

Zhou Mi takes them into his office, and closes the door. And from behind his desk, he takes out three brightly festooned bags, holding them out for Heechul and Han Geng to see. 

“Zhou Mi…” Heechul’s eyes go wide. 

“It’s been hard for you these past months,” Zhou Mi says, offering the bags for them to take. “You’ve been worrying about Hana, and you’ve been working more, too. And without you last night, I don’t know how we could have gotten today off the ground. I just hope that… What Han Geng said to Kyuhyun, earlier. I’m not bribing you to stay or anything, but I hope that we’ve proven that you’re welcome. That you’re safe here. And, well, Merry Christmas, I suppose.”

This is the first time that Zhou Mi has seen Heechul speechless. Han Geng steps forward in his place, wary of taking the bags. 

“Go on, open them,” Zhou Mi urges.

“We didn’t expect — we haven’t gotten you or Kyuhyun or Victoria anything, either.” 

Zhou Mi waves that off, and Han Geng hesitates before opening the gifts. In one bag is a Doraemon coloring book and notepad set for Hana. In another is a brand new dance leotard for Han Geng. And in the last is a pea coat in a luxurious red, woolen and infinitely warm. Heechul snatches it up right away, marvels at the feel of the fabric. 

“Try it on,” Zhou Mi urges.

Heechul takes off the threadbare coat he’s been wearing since the middle of fall, and puts on the new coat. Zhou Mi sighs in relief, because it fits perfectly.

“I knew that color would suit you,” Zhou Mi admires smugly, and flits around Heechul to check the back and sides. Before he finishes inspecting, however, he gets pulled into a tight, almost crushing, hug.

“You didn’t have to do this. Idiot,” Heechul mumbles into his shoulder.

“Don’t be stupid. That’s what friends are for,” Zhou Mi replies easily, patting Heechul’s back.

They stay like this for a while, until Han Geng touches Heechul’s shoulder. “We should go. Hana will be looking for us.”

“Yeah. Yeah all right.” Heechul gives Zhou Mi one more manly pat before pulling away, and both of their eyes aren’t perfectly dry. When they head back out, they see Kyuhyun trying to paint a pink heart onto Hana’s cheek.

“Yah yah yah, what are you doing with that paintbrush Kyuhyun-ah?” Heechul screeches and sprints over to stop Kyuhyun’s atrocious blob painting. When Zhou Mi and Han Geng catch up, Hana’s tugging at the edge of Heechul’s coat.

“Pretty,” she says, and Heechul kneels to pick her up in his arms. 

“Who’s pretty?” he says in a high voice, nuzzling his face to hers. “Hana is!”

Zhou Mi has to leave them like this for now, but as he helps with the rest of the festival, he can always catch Heechul’s coat flashing brighter than anything else in the crowd.

\--

When school reconvenes after the New Year, the first child who catches Zhou Mi’s eye is Hana, sitting at a table with her friends and eagerly showing off a brand new set of glitter pens. He notices that she’s slung a new coat on the back of her chair, and peaking out of her backpack is Zhou Mi’s Doraemon coloring book. She laughs, showing all of her teeth.

It startles Zhou Mi when he realizes that Kyuhyun’s sidled next to him, looking smug. He recovers, edging closer so he can brush Kyuhyun’s fingers.

“You were right, Kyuhyun.” At that Kyuhyun just smiles, and gives Zhou Mi’s fingers a playful tug. 

“I don’t quite know what you’re talking about, but I always am,” he replies with a wink, and goes off to help Victoria set out some paint supplies for an art lesson. Zhou Mi stands back, watching Hana call Kyuhyun over to show him her pens and draw all over his hands, and in that moment, he feels a warm feeling of satisfaction in his chest and prepares himself for another day at Mickey Mi’s Kindergarten House.


End file.
